I have felt like writing a new blog post for a while now. I haven't been doing a lot of running lately, so my usual source of inspiration for new blog posts is currently dried up. While contemplating my lack of ideas for new posts, I realized that there is an event next week that I am extremely excited for. Steven Spielberg's new movie Ready Player One comes out next Friday (March 30th). I LOVED the book the movie is based on and I am a huge fan of Steven Spielberg's movies. So, I have created a new category of blog post on Short, Round, and Fast titled "Gut Reaction".
Movie studios spend hundreds of millions dollars to promote / market their movies ahead of their release. The public's response to this marketing, or their "Gut Reaction", is what will make or break a movies opening weekend. The idea behind "Gut Reaction" is simple. I will rate my enthusiasm for an upcoming movie release based on the films marketing. My gut reaction to a films marketing will be ranked using a scale of 1 - 5 pizzas.
So, here we go. My "Gut Reaction" to the marketing for Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One!

In the Fall of 2016 , Hollywood released the first movie based on the bombing that took place at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. The movie's star (Mark Wahlberg) and director (Peter Berg) stated that their intent in making the film was to tell the story of the bombing in a way that honored the city and citizens of Boston and those who were affected by the bombing. The movie, Patriots Day, received mostly positive reviews from critics, however, the film failed to attract a large audience.
As a marathon runner that has run the Boston Marathon and as movie buff, I personally thought that Patriot's Day was decent movie that adequately paid tribute to the amazing citizens of Boston and their strength. With that being said, I walked away from the film deflated. Yes, the terrorists behind the attack had been caught, but the stories of those left dead and injured were left untold. The review I wrote for Patriots Day in January was titled "A Missed Opportunity".
My review gave credit to the team behind Patriot's Day for achieving their goal of making a movie that honored the citizens of Boston, but, in the end, stated that Patriots Day was not the movie I wanted to see about the bombing. I wanted to see the story of the people who had the strength to fight their way back from the brink of death. The people who learned how to live without their loved ones or their legs that were lost in the bombing. The people who carried on so the rest of us who were terrified by the events of that April afternoon could see their example of courage. The example that so clearly states to the terrorists who commit these dastardly acts that we will not live in fear of them and the human spirit cannot be killed by their bombs.
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